ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons Recalls the Blunt Text He Received After His Bandmate’s Death From a Fellow Rock Star

Some rock bands face the tragedy of losing a member at the peak of their success—Led Zeppelin with John Bonham, AC/DC and Bon Scott, The Who and Keith Moon. For some, like Led Zeppelin, this marked the end of the road. For others, they persisted. ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons has now experienced the realities of losing band members in old age after decades of playing together.

Now, Gibbons is the only surviving member of the original trio. Bassist Dusty Hill passed in 2021, and drummer Frank Beard passed in 2026. Gibbons and Beard had continued on after Hill’s passing, and Gibbons did the same after Beard’s. Within days of the drummer’s death, ZZ Top was back on stage with two replacements that both Hill and Beard had picked themselves. Beard elected Michael Monahan to play drums. Hill told Gibbons to put Elwood Francis, the band’s long-time guitar tech, on bass. “You didn’t know this,” Gibbons recalled Hill telling him at the time in a late August 2026 interview with Texas Monthly. “But Elwood used to teach me bass parts.”

Choosing to go forward as the last member of the trio has come with a learning curve. However, Gibbons said he was learning to adapt. He also mentioned receiving a blunt message of support from a fellow rock star that proved especially comforting to the iconic guitarist.

Billy Gibbons Heard From Keith Richards After Frank Beard’s Death

ZZ Top released their debut album in 1971. From then on, they were one of the pioneering bands behind the gritty, swampy sound of Southern rock. Even as a trio, the musicians created a larger-than-life sound that seemed to come straight out of Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill’s long, scraggly beards. (Frank Beard, ironically, being the only member to sport a clean chin.) Taking the stage with the weight of that legacy on his shoulders has been no small feat for the guitarist. But he received a helpful nudge from The Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards.

“I’ve gotten so many calls and texts from friends the last few days that have been reassuring,” Gibbons told Texas Monthly. “I got a nice one from Keith Richards. He didn’t say the show must go on. He just said, ‘I heard about it. I’ve done it.’ That’s all he said. It meant a lot and gave me a lot to think about.”

And indeed, Richards is no stranger to the harrowing experience of losing a friend and colleague all at once. In fact, The Stones have gone through multiple losses during their lengthy tenure together. The first was Brian Jones, founding member who died at 27 years old. Drummer Charlie Watts and keyboardist Ian Stewart have also passed. Just like ZZ Top, The Rolling Stones have powered through and stayed committed to the music, which, in a way, is one of the most profound ways to honor their late bandmates.

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